


Long Overdue

by carinascott



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2013-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-13 15:03:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carinascott/pseuds/carinascott
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce and Steve finally have a long overdue conversation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Overdue

**Author's Note:**

> I love Steve, and this is in no way intended to be seen as any kind of Steve bashing, so please forgive me if it seems like that at the start. I just figured that Steve's good intentions might annoy Bruce/Tony a bit, and I wanted to show that while at the same time giving Bruce a chance to put to bed any doubts Steve might have about Bruce and Tony being involved. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! :)

Bruce couldn't help the exasperated sigh that exploded from him upon seeing Steve Rogers walk into the common kitchen at Stark Tower. It wasn't that he didn't like the other man, in fact it was the exact opposite. He did like Steve. But Steve, for all that he'd been alive for over 70 years, even if the majority of his life had been spent frozen in stasis, he was very young.

He looked for the good in people, Bruce had seen evidence of that, but he also seemed to take a lot of things at face value. Bruce tried not to hold it against him, he'd been young and niave once too, but today he really wasn't in the mood.

"Good morning Dr. Banner."

"Good Morning, Captain."

"You know, it's okay if you call me Steve. No need to be so formal." Steve's smile was genuine.

Bruce returned his easy smile. "Okay, Steve. What brings you by this morning?"

"Well doctor-"

"Bruce."

"Okay. I came by to speak with you for a bit, Bruce."

"What about?" Bruce stood and walked over to take down the makings for breakfast. Tony would be down soon looking for his morning fuel, and if he didn't get some food into him then, he'd have hell trying to do so the rest of the day. Tony could easily make himself something to eat if he was so inclined, but Bruce didn't mind spoiling him with something so minor.

"Stark."

"Hmmm," the noncommittal sigh was a cover for Bruce's growing ire. He'd been expecting this conversation, but he certainly wasn't welcoming it. He was a private person and it had taken a lot to let someone in again, he really didn't feel like he needed to defend their relationship. "What about him?"

"Look, I realize that you are an adult, and that you can make your own decisions. But I don't think its a good idea for you to stay here with Tony. Its too dangerous."

Bruce wasn't surprised when the egg he'd been preparing to crack for Tony's favorite spinach omelet was crushed between his fingers, yolk and shell mixing together in the metal bowl. Walking over to the sink, giving up on making breakfast for the moment, Bruce quickly rinsed his hands of the sticky mess, wiping his hands on a paper towel before discarding it in the trash bin. Turning his attention back to Steve, Bruce contemplated going to join the other man where'd he was sitting at the breakfast bar, but decided against it in the end. It would probably be a good idea for there to be space between them for the remainder of this conversation.

"I would never hurt Tony, you know that."

Steve's smile wasn't as reassuring as he probably intended it to be, but Bruce didn't comment on it.

"I know that. I do. But, Tony is......unpredictable, and he seems to like poking at you to get a reaction. I know that you wouldn't intentionally set out to hurt Tony, but what about unintentional harm? Can you guarantee you won't accidentally hurt him?"

Bruce frowned, thinking over Steve's words. He knew he couldn't guarantee he would never physically hurt Tony, not with the Other Guy lurking beneath the surface at any moment. But then he remembered Tony's retelling of the battle against Loki. While Bruce didn't recall everything, some parts of his memory overlayed in a green, hazy blur, he did remember the feel of heated iron under the Other Guy's palms. Tony'd told him about the way Hulk had saved Tony, decimating a building in the process, and how he'd seemingly startled the life back into Tony when everyone else had given up on Tony as a lost cause. So maybe he couldn't guarantee that he'd never hurt Tony, but he was pretty certain that Tony was safe from the Hulk.

"I understand where you are coming from Steve. And before the whole Chitauri thing, I would've agreed. Hell, afterwards, I did agree. But the other guy, Hulk, he isn't a danger to Tony. Weird as it sounds, he actually seems to be fond of Tony. As am I. And while I can't guarantee that _I_ won't hurt Tony, I'm 99.99% certain that Hulk won't cause him any harm."

"I don't understand." And Bruce could see that he didn't, the furrow in his brow getting deeper with Steve's growing confusion.

Bruce finally relented and walked across the room and took a seat next to Steve, turning to face him once he was settled on the stool. 

"For years I was on the run from the military, and I'd thought that I'd hidden myself away pretty well. Natasha showing up out of the blue proved my assumptions were wrong, but until she showed up that's what I believed. And during those years, I helped people. I tended to the wounded, cared for the sick, and made the dying as comfortable as possible. I offered comfort to grieving loved ones where I could, and at the end of the day I would go back to my little one room hovel and I'd make myself some tea, eat food, and crawl into bed. The next day I'd repeat it all over again. No variation, save for the types of illness or number of deaths; that was my life."

"I'm sorry."

Bruce smiled softly, "I'm not. It gave me purpose. And after the whole thing with the other guy and all that crap with Ross, I needed a purpose. _Me_ , not the other guy. _I_ needed to know that _I_ could still be me without the other guy mucking up the works. But guess what? I couldn't be. As much as I don't like to admit it, don't even like to think about it; the Hulk is a part of me. He's a manifestation of a lot of the uncontrollable rage I'd supressed for a long time. I don't know how much you've learned about my life, my chidhood, but I'll just say that it wasn't pleasant. My father wasn't a kind man." Bruce ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit that he'd never quite overcome. "Anyway, as much as I liked the work I was doing, the good I was doing, my life was empty. It gave me purpose, something to do each day, but it didn't really fulfill anything. My nights were lonely, I had no real friends, no one I could talk to outside of the few doctors I worked with, and no one I could actually confide in. So as much as I complained about Natasha and Fury bringing me back here, I _needed_ it."

"I understand. The work, here with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. gives you a different purpose."

Bruce's smile was sardonic, "No, not at all. Yes, the work we do gives me purpose. But like my work in Kolkutta and all the other little places I've worked over the years, it didn't give me fulfillment."

"And Tony does that?"

"Tony does that." Bruce smiled.

"How?"

"Because he cares. He cares about me _and_ about the other guy. He doesn't shy away from me if I get angry or annoyed, everyone else does." Steve's flinch was a bit unsettling, but Bruce wouldn't take his words back. "I'm sorry Captain, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. But I want to be honest. Tony doesn't flinch when I'm near. He doesn't hold his breath if I get annoyed. When I wake up from a nightmare, eyes flashing green and all, he doesn't get scared. He makes me tea. Terrible, horrible, almost undrinkable tea. But he tries. And he sits with me. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don't. But he's there all the same. Every single time."

"You love him." It was a statement, not a question, but Bruce answered it all the same.

"I do."

"But I still don't see how that makes you a danger to _him_."

"Because a lot of what you think about Tony is true. He's arrogant, brash, somewhat self involved, he gets lost in his work, and he doesn't always take things as serious as he should." Steve opened his mouth to interrupt but Bruce held up his hand to forestall his words, "But, he's also caring. He makes me laugh, keeps me from taking everything so seriously. He lets me get lost in my own work. Hell, he gave me a lab of my own to get lost in. And he ..... he loves me. And he loves the Hulk. And he makes me see that Hulk is a part of me, and that its okay. So, I'm not a danger to Tony by staying, but I'd be a danger to him by leaving. Because Tony doesn't do things by half, and since he loves me, I know its with everything he has. I can't.....I _won't_ throw that away. I love him too much for that. So, maybe it makes me selfish, I don't know. But I love him. And I won't be leaving. So, while I'd love to have your full support in regard to our relationship; it won't change anything if we don't get it. I'm with Tony. I plan to be for as long as he'll have me. And I'd appreciate if the subject of our relationship and any negative aspects you might see about it aren't brought up again."

Steve remained quiet for a long while before standing and holding out his hand, "I'm sorry for making assumptions. I shouldn't have. I won't bring it up again."

Bruce accepted the handshake and watched as Steve walked out of the kitchen before turning back, getting lost in his own thoughts.

He startled a bit a few moments later when he felt strong hands slip around his waist. Turning in the embrace, Bruce smiled, looking into Tony's sleepy eyes. "Good morning sleepyhead, about time you woke up."

"I do love you, you know."

Bruce frowned a bit, wondering at the hint of a question in Tony's statement. His eyes widened slightly as realization set in. "You heard me."

Tony smiled, "Yes. I was gonna step in, but then you sounded so serious. I didn't want to interrupt, and then....well I couldn't." Tony leaned in and kissed Bruce, the minty taste of his toothpaste flooding Bruce's mouth as the kiss deepened. "You were right, though. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you left."

"Good thing you won't have to find out."

Bruce slid off the stool, lacing his fingers with Tony's, leading his lover back to the bedroom.

Breakfast could wait.

END


End file.
